Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known as Chris Jericho, is a professional wrestler, musician and media personality, best known for his stint in World Wrestling Entertainment from 1999 to 2005. Jericho was born in Manhasset, New York, but was raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His father Ted Irvine is a former NHL player. Contrary to popular belief, Chris Jericho's stage name was not inspired by the ancient city of Jericho, but by a Heavy Metal album bearing the title "Walls of Jericho" (which became the name of Jericho's finishing move) by the German band Helloween.
Career
Early Days
Jericho trained at the Hart brothers' pro-wrestling camp in Calgary, Alberta from June to September 1990. Between his professional debut on October 2, 1990 and the summer of 1996 he worked for many small wrestling companies, including Bay Area Wrestling, the World Wrestling Association, the Catch Wrestling Alliance, Smoky Mountain Wrestling (where he was briefly involved in a tag team called "The Thrillseekers" with Lance Storm) and Extreme Championship Wrestling, where he briefly held the ECW World Television Championship. He also wrestled at one time for the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, the oldest promotion in pro wrestling.
World Championship Wrestling (1996-99)
In August 1996 he made his first appearance with World Championship Wrestling and on September 15 of that year he appeared at his first pay per view show, versus Chris Benoit.
On June 28, 1997, Jericho defeated Syxx in Los Angeles, California to win the WCW Cruiserweight Championship for the first time.
Jericho won the title again on August 12, 1997 by defeating Alex Wright.
On September 25, 1997, Jericho was inducted into the Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Jericho defeated Rey Mysterio Jr. on January 24, 1998 at WCW's second annual Souled Out pay-per-view by making him submit to the Liontamer to win the WCW Cruiserweight Championship for the third time. After the match, Jericho continued an assault on Mysterio's knee by utilizing the metal ring steps to sandwich Mysterio's leg.
Jericho feuded with Juventud Guerrera culminating in a Title vs. Mask match at SuperBrawl VIII on February 22, 1998 in San Francisco, California. Guerrera lost the match and was forced to remove his mask. Jericho carried the mask around for months and mocked Guerrera's nickname of "Juice" by refering to him as "Quasi-Juice."
Jericho also feuded with Dean Malenko, Jericho was forced to create the feud because Malenko lacked in microphone ability. Malenko lost a pay-per-view match to Jericho and was shamed. This resulted in Malenko "leaving" wrestling and being off camera for a prolongued period. Jericho would come out and mock Malenko and make jokes about the fact that he defeated him and ended his career. Malenko was known as the man of 1,000 holds. Jericho began calling himself the man of 1,004 holds. Eventually, Dean Malenko would return and Jericho would drop the title to him. He would eventually regain and lose the title for a fourth time.
On July 13, 1998, Jericho defeated Rey Mysterio Jr. to win the Cruiserweight Championship for an unprecedented five times.
Eventually, Jericho would drop the title and on August 10, 1998 Jericho defeated Stevie Ray to win the WCW Television Championship for his first time.
Jericho would also go on to feud with Perry Saturn. This rivalry resulted in unorthodox matches such as a "loser must wear a dress" match that Jericho won and a dog collar match that Saturn won.
His feud with Bill Goldberg was nixed because Goldberg did not care for the humour that Jericho included in his feuds. This could have potentially hurt Jericho because a feud with Goldberg would have put him in a class that he had not yet achieved in the eyes of many, however, Goldberg usually ended up getting the upper hand on his opponents in devastating fashion and that may have burried Jericho.
Jericho also had a flunkie named Ralphus and a heel referee (Scott Dickinson) on his side before he left the company.
World Wrestling Entertainment/World Wrestling Federation (1999-2005)
Debut
Jericho alternated between WCW and a number of Japanese tours until his debut with the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) on August 9, 1999. The build-up to Jericho's arrival was a clock counting down over the weeks prior to his arrival. The clock read "countdown to the new millenium." On the home video Break the Walls Down, Chris states he was inspired to do this as his entrance when he saw a similar clock in the post office. Vince McMahon gave him the green light to use it as his intro to the WWE. Unfortunately, the clock finally ran down on August 9, 1999 in Chicago, IL while The Rock was in the ring doing a promo. Jericho, a heel, entered the arena and proclaimed himself Y2J and The Rock proceeded to verbally bash him for his interruption. Fortunately, this is remembered by just about everyone as one of the greatest debuts for any wrestler to any federation.
Chyna
On December 12, 1999 Jericho won his first WWF Title, the Intercontinental Championship, from Chyna. This fued lasted for many weeks including a controversial decision in which two seperate referees declared each one of them the winner of a match for the title on January 3, 2000. As a result, they became co-owners of the title until Jericho attained sole ownership at the Royal Rumble in January 2000. He ended up dropping it to Kurt Angle on February 27 at No Way Out.
WrestleMania 2000
On April 2, 2000 Jericho participated in his very first WrestleMania in a Triple Threat match against Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle with peculiar rules. Kurt Angle entered the match-up as both the WWF European and WWF Intercontinental champion. The first man to score a pinfall or submission would be declared Intercontinental Champion. The second man to score a pinfall or submission would be declared European Champion. Jericho was first pinned by Benoit (making Benoit the new Intercontinental Champion) and would later on in the match pin Benoit (making Jericho the new European Champion). Jericho, however, would lose the title the next day to Eddie Guerrero.
An Upset That "Never Happened"
On the April 17, 2000 edition of WWF SmackDown! Chris Jericho shocked the world by upsetting Triple H in a WWF Heavyweight Championship match. The referee Earl Hebner has made a fast count when Jericho pinned HHH, leading him to force the referee to reverse the decision and stop the title changing hands. Jericho's win was stricken from the record.
Chris Benoit
After the controversial decision, Jericho went on to feud with Chris Benoit. On the May 4, 2000 edition of SmackDown! Jericho defeated Benoit to become WWF Intercontinental Champion for the second time. Four days later, on Monday, May 8, 2000, Jericho wrestled a total of three matches on Monday Night Raw. One of which was a defeat at the hands of Chris Benoit in which Benoit regained the Intercontinental Title. That same month, at the May 21 Judgment Day pay-per-view, Jericho had a, now classic, Submission Match against Benoit which Jericho lost.
At that years King of the Ring pay-per-view, Jericho defeated Test in the first round and Edge in the second round but lost to Kurt Angle in the finals because of interference by Stephanie McMahon.
One month later at Fully Loaded on July 23, Jericho attained another opportunity to acquire a win over Triple H, this time in a Last Man Standing match. However, Triple H would get the better of Jericho and Jericho would end the night defeated.
At Summerslam on August 27, Jericho was handed another loss by Chris Benoit. This time it would be in a Best 2 out of 3 Falls Match.
Jericho would go on to feud with X-Pac (formerly Syxx in WCW) once again over the fall. This feud would culminate in a cage match at the October 22 No Mercy pay-per-view which Jericho won.
Following this feud Jericho would feud with Kane, who defeat Jericho at November's Survivor Series and December's Rebellion pay-ver-views. However, Jericho would defeat Kane in a Last Man Standing match at the December 10 Armageddon pay-per-view.
On January 21, at the 2001 Royal Rumble, Jericho and Chris Benoit had another classic match. This time it would be a ladder match and Jericho would be victorious, in effect capturing the WWF Intercontinental Championship for a third time. He would go on to retain the title at the February 25 No Way Out pay-per-view in a match-up against Benoit, X-Pac and Eddie Guerrero.
William Regal
Next Jericho started a rivalry with William Regal. Their first major match was at WrestleMania 17 on April 1. Jericho won and retained the Intercontinental Title only to lose it three days later to Triple H. At April 29's Backlash pay-per-view, Jericho and Regal would face off in a "Dutchess of Queensbury" Match. Regal won the encounter. However, on May 5, at the Insurrexion pay-per-view, Jericho defeated Regal in a "Queen's Cup" match.
Jericho and Benoit Join Forces
Fifteen days later, at the Judgment Day pay-per-view Jericho and Benoit would join forces to win "Tag Team Turmoil" and gain an opportunity to face Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H for Austin and Triple H's WWF Tag Team Championship on Raw the next night. Benoit and Jericho would win the match and Jericho became WWF Tag Team Champion for his first time. The duo would lose the titles one month later to the Dudley Boyz on June 19, 2001.
An Invasion, The Rock and an Undisputed Champion
In the following months, Jericho would become a major force in the "Invasion" storyline in which WCW and ECW joined forces to overtake the WWF. Jericho would remain on the side of the WWF and retain his status as a face. However, slowly signs of a heel turn became obvious as Jericho would begin to show jealousy toward fellow WWF member, The Rock. The two began to fued within the ranks of the WWF culminating on October 21 at No Mercy where Jericho defeated The Rock for his first WCW Heavyweight Championship reign. One night later, the two put their differences aside and managed to defeat the Alliance's Dudley Boyz for the WWF Tag Team Championship. Jericho and The Rock would lose the titles on November first to the Alliance's Test & Booker T. The loss of the titles apparently signaled the dissintigration of the duo's relationship as on November 5's edition of Raw, The Rock regained the WCW Heavyweight Championship from Jericho and at November 18's Survivor Series pay-per-view, during an elimination tag match for control of the company between the Alliance and the WWF, Jericho turned heel again by turning on The Rock and nearly costing him the match-up and potentially decemating the WWF. Jericho let his hatred for the Rock get out of hand by hitting the Rock before leaving the ringside area after being eliminated. The Rock would still win the match-up and put an end to the Alliance.
On December 9, 2001, at Vengeance, Chris Jericho defeated both The Rock, for his WCW Heavyweight Championship, and Stone Cold Steve Austin, for his WWF Heavyweight Championship, on the same night to become the first ever WWF Undisputed Champion. This is considered a tremendous accolade and is arguably Chris Jericho's greatest accomplishment. He, not only, united the WCW and WWF title, but did so against two men who were arguably the best wrestlers of that period on the same night.
Jericho would continue his rivalry with The Rock at the 2002 Royal Rumble on January 20 by defeating The Rock in a match-up for Jericho's Undisputed Championship by using the ring ropes for leverage during a pin-fall.
One month later, at No Way Out, Jericho, with the aid of nWo interference, once again defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin to retain the Undisputed Championship.
WrestleMania X-8 and Triple H
Jericho finally dropped the championship to Triple H, who won the Royal Rumble, three months later in the main event of WrestleMania X-8. This loss would make Jericho a member of the SmackDown! roster. His feud with Triple H would continue as Jericho cost Triple H the title in a match-up against Hollywood Hulk Hogan at the following month's Backlash pay-per-view. Four days later Jericho defeated Triple H to win an opportunity at the championship against Hogan the following week. Triple H cost Jericho that match. The rivalry culminated on May 19, at Judgment Day, as Triple H and Jericho faced off in a Hell in a Cell match. Triple H would win the match after delivering the Pedigree to Jericho on top of the cell.
The Rookie: John Cena
Following this feud Jericho would begin a brief rivalry with rookie, John Cena. On the July 4 edition of SmackDown! Cena slaps Jericho. Jericho, angred, demands a match with the newcomer. Jericho defeated Cena and after the match, offered him a handshake. Cena returned the gesture but received a punch from Jericho. The two would have a few more matches until the July 21 Vengeance pay-per-view in which John Cena scored a pinfall over Jericho.
Back on Raw
Jericho got drafted back to Monday Night Raw and would go on to begin a rivalry with Ric Flair by attacking him with a steel chair at the end of the July 29 edition of Raw. At the August 25 SummerSlam pay-per-view Flair defeated Jericho by making him submit to the figure four leg lock.
Jericho and Christian: Tag Team
Jericho would go on to tag team success with Christian capturing the tag team titles from Hurricane and Kane on October 14, 2002.
On November 17, at Survivor Series, Jericho participated in the very first Elimination Chamber match along with Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Booker T, Rob Van Dam and Kane for the World Heavyweight Championship. Shawn Michaels won.
At Armageddon on December 15, Jericho and Christian finally lost the Tag Team Championship to Booker T and Goldust in a fatal four way match also involving the Dudley Boyz and Lance Storm and William Regal.
The Heartbreak Kid
Jericho started a rivalry with Shawn Michaels in 2003. On January 13, Jericho won an over-the-top-rope challenge against Kane, Rob Van Dam and Batista to select his entry number for the Royal Rumble. Wishing to prove himself as good as Michaels, Jericho selected number one, however, he was informed that Michaels had already selected number one and, instead, chose number two. At the Rumble, Jericho eliminated Michaels after bloodying him with a steel chair. Jericho himself was later eliminated by Test. At February 23's No Way Out pay-per-view, Jericho defeated Jeff Hardy, whom Michaels was attempting to mentor, via the Walls of Jericho. On March 3, Jericho defeated Test in a match and attacked him afterward. Michaels came out to help Test and Jericho knocked Michaels out cold with a steel chair and challenged him to a match at WrestleMania 19. The next week, Shawn Michaels delivered his Sweet Chin Music to Jericho and accepted his challenge. On March 30, at WrestleMania 19, in what many consider to be Jericho's greatest match in the WWE, the two faced off with Michaels coming out the victor.
After this, Jericho bounced around for a while and developed somewhat of a fued with Kevin Nash culminating in a Hair vs. Hair match on August 18 that Nash lost and, as a result, was forced to cut his hair off.
On October 27, Jericho defeated Rob Van Dam to capture the Intercontinental Championship but, then Co-General Manager, Stone Cold Steve Austin ordered a rematch on the same night. Rob Van Dam won the rematch, a cage match, and regained the title the same night he lost it.
Trish Stratus & Christian
Beginning around this time, Jericho developed a crush on Trish Stratus. Eventually, on the November 10, 2003 edition of Monday Night Raw, Jerich finally asked Trish out and she replied in the positive.
One week later, Trish becomes angred with Jericho for being involved in her friend, Lita's, hearbreak. Jericho denies any previous knowledge of what was going to happen and sweet talks his way back into Trish's good graces.
On December 1, Jericho and Trish teamed up to defeat Rico and Miss Jackie. Later that night, Jericho and Christian were overheard in the locker room mocking Stratus' and Lita's affections, and revealed a bet the two of them had with one another--for one Canadian dollar--to see which man could sleep with their chosen Diva first. Stratus, who was to present Jericho with a hand-made Canadian hockey jersey as a gift, heard every word and every laugh from outside the dressing room, and it brought her to tears and on December 8 Trish and Lita confronted and attacked the duo.
At December 14's Armageddon, Jericho and Christian defeat Lita and Trish in a "Battle of the Sexes" match. The next night, a rematch was scheduled but was stopped by Chris Jericho. As a result, he was forced to face Kane and was attacked by Christian later that night.
On January 5, Jericho and Christian reunited and Jericho attempted to apologize to Trish and get back in her good graces. One week later, Trish was being assaulted by Jazz and Jericho ran in to make the save but was attacked himself by Jazz' stable-mate Mark Henry. Christian, later that night, convinced Jericho that he was wasting his time with Trish. Jericho conceded not knowing that Trish was looking for him.
On January 26, Trish was scheduled to face Kane in a match-up. However, Chris Jericho, having one and only one favor that he could ask of General Manager Eric Bischoff after helping Bischoff eliminate Steve Austin as Co-GM, asked that the match be cancelled. Trish approached Jericho and told him that they could be "really good friends." On the February 9 edition of Raw, Jericho teamed with Trish to take on Matt Hardy and Molly Holly. Jericho and Trish won with help from Christian. It seemed as if Christian had finally come to accept Jericho's affections for Trish.
Jericho would be out of action due to a knee injury for the next couple of weeks. Eric Bischoff scheduled a match between Christian and Trish Stratus for Monday Night Raw on February 23. Backstage Christian told Trish that he would lie down for her and allow her to pin him. However, once in the ring, Christian delivered a clothesline to Trish and applied Jericho's Walls of Jericho submission onto her. She was taken out of action for several weeks and Christian gloated over his actions.
Jericho returned, furious, and attacked Christian on March 1. A match was scheduled for WrestleMania XX on March 14. It appeared this long and intense angle would reach its conclusion on this night. Unbeknown to the fans in attendance, it was only just getting warmed up. Stratus surged toward the ring late in the match, appearing to be firmly in Jericho's corner. Christian, apparently disgusted by Stratus' presence, pulled her violently into the ring and attempted to attack her. Jericho made the save, but when he leaned down to assist his fallen friend, Stratus thrust forth an elbow, apparently believing that it was Christian. Her elbow jabbed Jericho's temple, and Christian scored a roll up pin for the three-count. After the match, Stratus appeared to be all apologies, but as she and Jericho argued in the ring, Christian came running back down the aisle, to seemingly get his hands on Stratus in a violent and hateful manner once again. As Jericho tried to hold Stratus back, though, the fans witnessed the turn of Trish Stratus. Stratus suddenly reared back and throttled Jericho with a vicious haymaker, which Christian followed with the Un-Prettier. Christian and Stratus walked away holding hands, mocking their former friend who sat in the ring looking on with an expression of disbelief. Before they departed, Christian grabbed Stratus' hair, pulled her to his lips, and passionately kissed his new girlfriend.
The following night on Raw, Stratus revealed on how she had never forgiven Jericho for the Canadian dollar bet, how her feelings of sadness and hurt ate away at her for months as she plotted her ultimate revenge. She also revealed to the fans how much she "likes it rough". She ended the promo by proclaiming to Jericho and to the world, "You can't get no...Stratusfaction."
The fued would continue through the spring and into the summer with Tyson Tomko eventually joining Trish and Christian as "The Problem Solver," and would ultimately end at Bad Blood on June 14, 2004 with Jericho defeating Tomko.
Order of the Buffalo Hunt
On July 5, 2004, Jericho was awarded The Order of the Buffalo Hunt in a ceremony held in Manitoba for his achievements in wrestling and his continual commitment to working with underpriveledged children. The award has previously been given to Pope John Paul II, Chicago mayor Richard Daley, Desmond Tutu and Mother Theresa.
Christian Returns
Jericho's fued with Christian began again on August 30 when Christian made his return to Monday Night Raw. On September 12, Jericho defeated Christian in a ladder match for the vacant Intercontinental Championship.
Shelton Benjamin Proves Himself
On October 19, 2004's Taboo Tuesday, Shelton Benjamin defeated Jericho for the Intercontinental Championship. Six days later Benjamin defeated Jericho again in a rematch. Jericho displayed his approval of the younger Benjamin following the rematch.
WrestleMania 21 and "Money in the Bank"
In February of 2005, Jericho began making it known that he wanted to leave an impact at WrestleMania 21 on April 3. Eventually, he came up with the idea of a ladder match. This would develop into the "Money in the Bank" ladder match. The winner of this match at WrestleMania 21 would win a contract for an opportunity to compete for the World Heavyweight Championship at anytime up to and including WrestleMania 22. The particapents were Jericho, Chris Benoit, Edge, Kane, Christian, and Shelton Benjamin. Edge would won the match.
Shelton Benjamin's Gold and Jericho's Selfishness
Following this, Jericho targeted Shelton Benjamin and the Intercontinental Championship. This came to a head May 1 at Backlash where Shelton Benjamin again defeated Jericho to retain the title.
Jericho, once again, showed signs of turning heel by caring less about wrestling and more about his career as a musician. This affected Shelton Benjamin the most as Jericho often abandoned Benjamin in tag matches and allowed him to be attacked due to prior engagements.
Jericho made an appearance at ECW's One Night Stand pay-per-view on June 12, 2005. He faced and was defeated by Lance Storm with help from Justin Credible.
John Cena
In 2005, Jericho turned heel once more by turning on recent Raw member and current WWE champion, John Cena. Cena retained his championship against Jericho and Christian at Vengeance in a triple threat match. Jericho, however, continued to feud with John Cena, as the two had to be separated by police during Jericho's "Highlight Reel" on the July 4 edition of Monday Night Raw. Cena and Jericho will meet for the championship at Summerslam. On the July 25, 2005 edition of RAW, Jericho and Cena were supposed to face each other in a "Battle of the Bands," pitting Jericho's band Fozzy against Cena, Trademarc, and Bumpy Knuckles. Cena and his partners performed Cena's latest single, "Bad, Bad Man," to a great reaction from the fans, but Jericho refused, thinking the fans in Cleveland, Ohio would be biased and said he'd wait to perform at Summerslam. Jericho would get the last laugh of the evening, however, when, as special guest referee, he caused Cena to lose his match against Carlito, setting up a WWE title match for Carlito the following week. The next Monday night Jericho was again appointed a special guest referee in Carlito's championship match. Cena retained the title against Carlito after knocking Jericho out of the ring; another referee recorded the pinfall. However, Jericho attacked Cena with a video camera, busting his head open. He then applied the Walls of Jericho while Eric Bischoff slapped Cena across the face. On August 21, Jericho finally faced Cena at SummerSlam. Cena won the match.
One day after losing to John Cena at the 2005 WWE SummerSlam, on August 22nd edition of WWE Raw, Jericho was "fired" by Eric Bischoff, after losing in a rematch to John Cena.
Today
The WWE's official website recently confirmed on July 28, 2005 that Chris Jericho has signed a short-term contract extension to stay with the company. It is currently unknown if or when Jericho will return. Further speculation was made when days after his "firing", a picture of Jericho's trademark pose in front of the TNA logo on his official website. It is not yet known if this was for real or just a tease. On August 25, 2005, Jericho announced his departure from WWE in a statement on (and later pulled from) his official website, saying that after 15 years of wrestling he was mentally burnt out and he was no longer challenged by wrestling at that point in time, noting that he has done everything he has ever wanted to do in the business. He said that the "You're Fired" match with John Cena was his last match "For now," but said he wasn't done with wrestling or WWE, and that if he returned to wrestling, it would be with WWE [1]. The statement was later removed, possibly to maintain the angle that Jericho was "fired" from WWE and would not return.
Miscellaneous
Jericho was inducted into the Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame on September 25, 1997. On July 5, 2004 he was awarded the Order of the Buffalo Hunt, the highest award given by the Province of Manitoba.
Music Career
Besides being a professional wrestler, Jericho has a degree in journalism and is the frontman of the heavy metal group Fozzy. He also writes a semi-regular column for Metal Edge magazine.
Jericho also started his own weekly XM radio show, in March 2005, called "the Rock of Jericho."
Personal life
Jericho is married to a woman named Jessica, with whom he has a son, Ash.
In wrestling
Previous managers
Quotes
- "Welcome to RAW - Is - Jericho!"
- "Would you please shut the hell up?"
- "Assclown..."
- "I'm a sexy beast!"
- "I was the first ever Undisputed Champion!"
- "I'm the king of the world!"
- "I am a larger than life living legend."
- "You filthy, dirty, disgusting, brutal, bottom-feeding trash bag ho."
Finishing moves
- The Walls of Jericho / Lion Tamer (elevated Boston crab)
- Lionsault (Springboard moonsault)
- Running enzuigiri
- Flashback (Sleeper slam)
- Breakdown (Full nelson facebuster)
Signature moves
- Lionbomb (Double underhook powerbomb)
- Jericho Spike (Frankensteiner)
- Double powerbomb
- Missile Dropkick
- Double underhook backbreaker
- Springboard dropkick to an opponent on the ring apron
- Single-hand bulldog
- Jumping forearm
Nicknames
- Lionheart
- Y2J (parody of Y2K)
- The Millenium Bug
- The Living Legend
- The King of the World
- The King of Bling-Bling
- The Man of 1,004 Holds
- The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla
- The Sexy Beast
- One Bad Mamma Jamma
- The Human Highlight Reel
- The Highlight of the Night
- The Epicenter of Excitement
Championships and accomplishments
1. In a three way match against Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit.
2. The decision was revsersed later on the same show because of a fast count by the referee.
3. Jericho wins both titles on the same show and unifies them. The title is known as the WWE Undisputed Championship from then on.
4. RAW Co-GM Stone Cold Steve Austin forced the newly crowned IC Champion, Chris Jericho, to immediately defend his title in a cage match because of RAW Co-GM Eric Bischoff's interference in the previous match.
5. Jericho won the vacant title in a ladder match against Christian.
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) ranked him # 109 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.
- Chris won the 2002 PWI Most Hated Wrestler Award.
| Preceded by: Stone Cold Steve Austin |
WWE Champion | Followed by: Triple H |
| Preceded by: The Rock |
WCW World Heavyweight Champion |
External links
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